Fire in the Five Peaks

   The mottled yellow and brown beast dropped from the sky like a fallen comet, talons outstretched to rend and tear the small boy who had dared to defy her and stand his ground. She did not particularly care if she killed a human, even though the pact the beasts had made with the Thorn Throne so long ago still held and forbade humans. Razhadag had been declared a rogue and outcast for killing humans, and as a rogue she was denied the privilege to reside within the confines of the mythical Elven Forest, thus having to forage for food, shelter and lair elsewhere. She would enact revenge upon the humans, one way or the other, and no human upstart would stop her now. The taste of victory was as sweet, already feeling her large nostrils.

She screeched, and the sound of it was the most terrifying sound Bedevine heard in his short yet lived life. "I shall flay you alive and eat your liver while your heart still beats!" The sound of the screeching reminded him of a story his mother used to tell him in order to keep him out of the looming mountainsides of the Five-Peaks.  The screeching of the beast was ringing in his ears, “it must be furious”, spoke out with his panting soft voice. Although Razhadaq feared, she feared the black-robed one, but this young one was no threat, her mind was simple, nearing that of the instinct of an animal.

Her talons slammed down into the glowing blue sphere, and the shield buckled under the force of the wyvern's strike, but it did not break. She let out a sharp shot upwards, intending to dive once again upon the blue globe, perhaps if she threw enough weight and speed behind it, the protection would shatter. Riegon remained safely encased within the globe, the words to the Burning Flesh upon his tongue. He had never cast the spell before, but he feared that tonight he would and he was scared, scared of causing a wildfire and scared that he wouldn't be able to cast it and end up as a beast’s dinner. The wyvern was diving again, he could see her silhouette against the rising moon. Sweating, he poured more of his magic into the Shield. Behind him, the dwarves under the outcrop stirred, whickering, “You should have run while you had the chance, boy”. “I'm grateful for the assistance, even though you seemed you would be more helpful” Riegon turned to look at the dwarves, who had gotten up to their feet again. "Maybe so, but we're not dead yet."

The dwarves slammed Bedevine on the side and came out in the open. "Riegon!" Bedevine yelled. "Get back! It's a wyvern!"

"Stars and Shadows!" the young apprentice cried. "Bedevine, where are you?"

"Here, in the meadow! Just get behind some rock,please!" The last thing he needed was for the young apprentice to get killed trying to help him.

Then the wyvern slammed into his shield again and he could feel it start to unravel. "Damn, damn, damn!"

The beast tried to bite down on the globe, but it repelled her, and she growled and lashed her tail hard, its venomed stinger smashing into the blue shield over and "Get away from my friend, you poxy carrion eater!" shrilled Bedevine, leaving the safety of his hiding. The wyvern swung her head about, streams of saliva dripping on to the ground. "Get of that water blob, it will chew upon you and use you as a toothpick!", Garth yelled. Dorak, swung high above his head his huge battle axe and with a yell set forth in a frantic charge upon the creature.  

"Riegon, RUN!", screamed Bedevine. But the young apprentice was glaring at the wyvern, his eyes were burning and a look on his face was one  Bedevine had never seen before. "This is MY mountainside” was heard from the left hand side”! “No one threatens me nor my friend”!, was heard coming from the right hand side. “Take your smelly carcass away right blasted NOW!”, the dwarves were upon the beast from both sides!

Then Riegon  thrust out her hands and what looked like a tiny glowing ball flashed from them. The wyvern snorted. The glowing ball smashed into the creature, knocking the big beast head over tail, sending it flying halfway across the meadow, stealing the dwarves the chance to maim the beast with their huge battle axes.

Bedevine gasped. "Holy flaming…!"

Riegon dusted his hands off on her apron. "That'll teach you." He looked up and Riegon, “are you all right?”

Across the meadow, the beast was climbing to her feet, hissing and shaking her head to clear it.

In the next instant, Razhadaq was airborne, springing in one mighty leap. Anneska screeched, the fiery blast caught her mid face and the pain was terrible, she writhed and jerked her head around. The dwarves did not surrender, already on the tail of the beast they flung their axes high aiming for the neck. But the wyvern's neck was the best protected part of her, armored with overlapping scales that resisted the dwarven steel. She gnawed down with all of her strength, trying to grasp in the jaw the short squatty dwarves.

"Dorak! Her tail! Watch for her tail!" Garth warned, seeing the wyvern's whip like tail with its bulbous stinger snap back and then forward.

Dorak tumbled off the way just in the nick of time. The stinger crashed down onto Anneska, and the enraged female keened sharply. She was immune to her own venom, but the stinger had stabbed her in a delicate base of her neck. She flapped her wings hard, trying to fly up and attack her opponent from the air, but Garth sprang at her again, his axe catching her across opening red wounds.

"You will pay for that!" spat the wyvern, and she snapped her head down and bit the furious dwarf on the shoulder.

Garth shrieked, as much from fury as from pain and pulled away, leaving a good bit of his flesh and a long strip of skin in her jaws. The dwarf started to limp slightly, trickling down his thick neck crimson blood. But he yelled in defiance nevertheless.

“Come on, hellbeast! Try and finish me, you gutless piece of shoe leather!” growled,. "Your hide will be decorating my cave! And upon it I will be warm!"

Riegon felt sick at the sight of his injured friend, and the wyvern's last attack scared him. "Eat this, you overgrown bat!" Then he pointed his hands at her and shouted. Fire blasted from the end of his hands and struck the wyvern full on.